Young Man Gets Adopted After 13 Years in Foster Care

It has been a very long and difficult road for Carson Petersen. The 18-year-old has been in and out of the foster care system since his mother killed herself when he was only three. He was briefly taken care of by his biological father. However, that did not go well and Carson wound up back in foster care again. Carson admits that he started to lose hope of ever belonging to a family like most people. However, his dream finally came true when he was officially adopted by Renee and Tex Petersen. The adoption was made official at the Fresno County Superior Court on June 30th. Carson is currently a senior in high school.

Carson has actually been a part of the Petersen’s family since 2014. However, Carson asked his foster parents to officially adopt him late last year. They knew how much such a gesture would mean to Carson. The Petersens have a biological son, Hunter, who is 18 as well. They also have a young son and daughter who are both adopted. Carson hopes that his story can be an inspiration to kids who still find themselves in the foster care system after many years. He believes that it is very important to never give up hope.

Carson does not have any plans for his immediate future. He is not sure if he wants to attend college. He just wants to focus on spending time with his family right now. The family has a vacation to Europe planned for later this year. Carson has never been able to travel outside of the United States. Needless to say, he is very excited about this new adventure in his life. Carson did admit that he wants to learn a foreign language because he is interested in other cultures.

Many children struggle to find a stable set of parents in the foster care system. Most parents who are interested in adopting want a very young child. This makes it very difficult for children over the age of eight to get people to be interested in adopting them. This often causes them to languish in the foster care system for many years. Studies have shown that children who spend a large portion of their childhood in a foster home often commit crimes and do poorly in school. Fortunately, Carson did not fall into either of those categories. He is a great student.